Philipp Herkelmann | Operator | Advisor | First Principle & Check InvestorAbout Me
I’m a Berlin-based operator, advisor, and angel investor, living with my wife and two daughters. I’m a builder at heart and a passionate collaborator with founders and ambitious teams tackling meaningful problems.My career has spanned sectors and continents—from public governance work in Nepal, to VC-backed entrepreneurship in Europe, to global sales leadership at Googlet to Program Lead for the moonshot Project Chorus at X - The Moonshot Factory in Silicon Valley. As an investor, I’ve backed 40+ software, AI and deep tech startups, both as a sponsored investor and angel—companies like Sensmore, Noah Labs, Orbital Matters, Crane Bioscience and LevelNine Bio.From 2020 to 2023, I served as Partner & General Manager at Entrepreneur First, where I focused on pre-seed and seed investments in deep tech, AI, and SaaS—driven by a talent-first investment thesis.In 2024, I co-initiated EU Inc, a founder-led policy movement that successfully placed the idea of a pan-European startup entity on the agenda of the European Commission and Council—with endorsement from OpenAI, Stripe, the World Economic Forum, and 16,000+ others. I became a policy activist by accident.Today, I actively support founders, ecosystem builders, and early-stage funds through advisory work, mentorship, investments, and hands-on product building. Most nights you’ll find me prototyping tools, writing, or trying to wrangle clarity out of complexity.Let's connect on LinkedIn or X.
Investments
| Startup | Vertical | Investment | Current Stage | First Check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blocktorch | Web3 Infra | Pre-Seed | Acquired | Yes |
| FridayFinance | Fintech | Pre-Seed / Series A | Acquired | Yes |
| Playback | Social Commerce | Pre-Seed | Acquired | Yes |
| Kreatize | Manufacturing / Platform | Seed + MBO | Series B | No |
| Cirplus | Circular Economy / Platform | Seed | Series A | No |
| Byways | Logistics | Seed | Seed | No |
| DeepSpin | Healthtech | Seed | Seed | No |
| Epsilico | Biotech | Pre-Seed | Seed | Yes |
| Freshflow | Food tech AI | Pre-Seed / Seed | Seed | Yes |
| Itexia | SaaS Circularity | Seed | Seed | Yes |
| Level Nine Bio | Biotech | Pre-Seed | Seed | Yes |
| Modelme.tech | GenAI Image | Pre-Seed / Seed | Seed | Yes |
| Noah Lab | Healthtech / AI | Pre-Seed | Seed | Yes |
| Nostos Genomics | Healthtech | Seed | Seed | No |
| Rouvia | Logistic / SaaS | Pre-Seed | Seed | Yes |
| Sensmore | Robotics / AI | Pre-Seed | Seed | Yes |
| Thermosphr | Climate Tech AI / HVAC | Pre-Seed | Seed | Yes |
| Uify | Frontline AI / SaaS | Seed | Seed | Yes |
| Avayl | Pharma Intelligence / AI | Pre-Seed | Pre-Seed + | Yes |
| Bryo.io | Procurement AI | Pre-Seed | Pre-Seed + | Yes |
| Crane BioScience | Biotech | Pre-Seed | Pre-Seed + | Yes |
| Mirantus | Healthcare | Pre-Seed | Pre-Seed + | Yes |
| Orbital Matter | Space | Pre-Seed | Pre-Seed + | Yes |
| TextCortex | GenAI / SaaS | Pre-Seed + | Pre-Seed + | Yes |
| Velsa | Legaltech / SaaS | Pre-Seed | Pre-Seed + | Yes |
| Zebracat | GenAI Video | Pre-Seed | Pre-Seed + | Yes |
| Amayu Health | Healthcare | Pre-Seed | Pre-Seed | Yes |
| ConnectReal | Real Estate AI | Pre-Seed | Pre-Seed | Yes |
| Character | Social | Pre-Seed | - | Yes |
| Deep Balancer | Cryptofinance | Pre-Seed | - | Yes |
| FemXX Health | Social FemTech | Pre-Seed | - | Yes |
| Heytheo.com | Hardware | Pre-Seed | - | Yes |
| Meta Wealth | Cryptofinance | Pre-Seed | - | Yes |
| Moonpass | Cryptofinance | Pre-Seed | - | Yes |
| Narrative | Finance/Wealth Management | Pre-Seed | - | Yes |
| Tacit | Web3 | Pre-Seed | - | Yes |
Work
2024 | Advisory & Venture Building: Developed and sold software in procurement & next-gen ERP, Advisory.
2024 | www.EU-INC.org: Co-initiated the policy initiative with Andreas Klinger, Simon Schaefer & Vojtech Hojna. Successfully lobbied the creation of a pan-european entity into EU Commission Working program by building Europes largest Tech movement.
2023-2024 | Parental Break: Focused on family and the birth of our second child. Engaged in research, skill development, and product building. Provided consulting to selected organizations, non-profits, and accelerators.
2020-2023 | Entrepreneur First: Partner & General Manager. Promoted after 12 months. Enabled the creation of 30 tech companies. Specialized in talent-driven investments in early-stage frontier tech and SaaS.
2019-2020 | Google: Transitioned back to Germany. Part-time role preparing for exit. Managed relationships and strategies for major clients.
2018-2019 | X-The Moonshot Factory US: Operated a US-wide commercial pilot of an IoT device with predictive analytics with the largest global logistics provider. Gained deep insights into moving deeptech from TRL3 to TRL6 and operating industrial pilots.
2015-2018 | Google DE: Industry Manager. Managed brand and e-commerce strategies for major sports brands. Developed global sales strategies and market intelligence tools. Engaged with C-level executives.
2013-2015 | Google Ireland: Sales Team member. Managed performance marketing for major clients in Travel & Retail.
2012-2013 | Rocket Internet Venture: Product Manager. Learned e-commerce product development.
2010-2012 | Own VC-backed Venture: Founded "GiftMe". Participated in StartUpBootCamp. Raised a pre-seed round.
2008-2011 | Internships & Studying: Completed a bachelor’s in Public Management and Governance at Zeppelin University. Interned at G.I.Z. in Nepal. Co-authored a book on grassroots lobbying. Developed marketing concepts for the introduction of the first I-Phone and sold to Deutsche Telekom.
Projects & Tinkering
chiq.ai (2024): Contract Software & AI Development with top-tier engineers from Google, 8200 & Twiggle
ProcurementNext (2024): AI enabled Inventory & Procurement Intelligence [5-digit revenue after 2 months]
Doyen.one (2024): Custom algorithms, mathematical models for processes and decisions with Dr. Paul Boes
smrtspace.xyz (2023): Index & Abstract of public scientific lectures [ca. 2000 MAU]
Applicant.Space (2024): Next Level Job Offer Pages with Benjamin Libor [No Sales]
Room720 (2023): Community for Next-Generation top technical founders [ca. 300 active members]
Short-Form Writing (2024): 30 short-form essays in 30 days to build a muscle in Digital Writing
Long-Form Writing (2023): Deep-Dive essays on Entrepreneurship
Funfacts
I assisted in 14 C-Sections
Nepalese heritage goods are partially running on a depreciation schedule, designed by me
I have an education in Drama Improv Acting from Gaiety School in Dublin